"It will soon be very difficult for the Dutch to support Visma" - Dutch ex-pro dissatisified as the top team gradually abandons its Dutch roots

Cycling
Saturday, 18 January 2025 at 01:00
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Team Visma | Lease a Bike recently unveiled its Tour de France pre-selection centered around the only man who can challenge Tadej Pogacar - Jonas Vingegaard. But what's more striking for home fans of the Dutch team is that not a single Dutch rider made the preliminary nomination.

"At Rabobank, the whole of the Netherlands supported the team," Michale Boogerd, a winner of two Tour stages told Nieuwsblad. "I wonder what it will be like now. The general public wants to see their fellow countrymen. It will soon be very difficult for the Dutch to support Visma,” Boogerd, himself a former Rabobank rider, concluded.

Besides obviously Jonas Vingegaard, there's also Brit Simon Yates, Frenchman Christophe Laporte, two Americans Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson and three Belgians Wout Van Aert, Tiesj Benoot and Victor Campenaerts at the early list. Naturally the sport of cycling is unpredictable and a lot can change until the July but for the moment there's not much hope for a sudden change of plans either.

It doesn't appear that neither the experienced climbers Steven Kruijswijk and Wilco Kelderman, nor previous year's last-minute substitute Bart Lemmen nor Olav Kooij (who is heading to the Giro) seem to be in the consideration. Dylan van Baarle has been struggling with weight for a long time and whether he shall enter the battle for Tour de France spots will depend on whether he can return close to his best during the spring.

"That says a lot about the state of our racing," Boogerd told Nieuwsblad. "It's not normal, it's actually extremely unfortunate. It's just business. How can we still call this team the flagbearer of Dutch cycling?" he asked rhetorically.

However, team boss Richard Plugge had no time for such patriotic sentiments, despite being Dutch himself. "I just want to win the Tour," he told Wielerflits. "If we have more chance of doing so with foreign riders, then so be it. "With the eight riders we have chosen, we are best able to win the Tour."

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